The Future of Union Organising by Gall, Gregor -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

The Future of Union Organising

Contents Illustrations

Tables Figures

Contributors 1 ‘Union Organising’ – Past, Present and Future

Introduction Limited gains and external organising Union organising is not union organising New environments, same directions? A politics of union organising?6 Notes

2 Union Organising in the US: New Tactics, Old Barriers

Introduction Contours of union decline The rise of card-check and neutrality agreements Why so few voluntary recognition agreements? A closer look at progress Who is growing? Business union barriers to growth Alternative approaches Conclusion Appendix of acronyms

3 Opening Pandora’s Box: The Paradox of Institutionalised Organising

Introduction ‘Organising model’: Key themes The ‘organising model’ in T&G-Unite1

Strategic and resource-intensive organising

Workplace density and leadership Organising strategy effectiveness In the workplace Efficacy of industrial action Outside the organising strategy Conclusion Note

4 Social Partnership and Union Revitalisation: The Irish Case

Introduction The organising model The SEIU model Partnership and union revitalisation

Legal obstacles Reluctance to organise the transnational sector Lay organising

Conclusion

5 Union Organising in the Netherlands – a Combination of Organising and Servicing Strategies

Scope and patterns of organising, servicing and representation Processes of organising in 14 FNV projects Contents of FNV projects Target groups in FNV projects

Conclusion Notes

6 Reinvention of Activism: A Chance for Union Renewal in New Market Economies? The Case of Poland

7 The ‘Servicing–Organising–Community Continuum’: Where Are Australian Unions Today?

Introduction Origins of the organising model From organising to community unionism? Community–union alliances: Case studies AMIEU – Stop Live Exports CFMEU – Perth Indigenous Community (Swan Brewery Site) MUA – Stella Maris Seafarers’ Centre AWU – Country Women’s Association (CWA) – WorkSafe Victoria ANF – aged-care sector TPAV – Neighbourhood Watch Conclusion

8 Labour Union Strategies in the European Union Steel Sector

Introduction Research methods Steel sector developments Union responses and strategies Addressing workforce recomposition and equal opportunities Organising in relation to training and learning Mobilising strategies Discussion Conclusion

9 CleanStart – Fighting for a Fair Deal for Cleaners

Introduction CleanStart

The development of strategy Traditional methods of organising cleaners The new strategy The organising Communications strategy The community Politics Reaching out to owners The contractors Building density Collective bargaining

Has CleanStart been a success? How could all this happen? The importance of winning Conclusion: Does organising work? Note

10 Organising Immigrants: State Policy and Union-Organising Tactics in the Republic of Ireland

Introduction Methodology Rise of the international labour force in Ireland Migrant workers and state policy A Celtic fantasy?

Recruitment agencies The work permit system Inequality in labour standards

Union organisation and representation Conclusion and discussion Notes

11 Union Organising with ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Industrial Relations Actors: Sex Workers in Australia and the United States

Introduction Themes and issues Research methods Australia United States Summary Conclusion

12 Reconstructing Construction Unionism: Beyond Top-Down and Bottom-Up

Introduction The construction sector New strategies for building membership and recovering market share Adversarial strategies Cooperative strategies with construction employers and owners Formal labour–management cooperation as a method of regaining market share Improving value proposition for owners Project labour agreements Strategic engagement with owner associations Limitations of cooperative strategies Restructuring the trades Changing member attitudes Enlarging administrative units to better reflect labour markets Adapting occupations to meet the challenge of residential construction Organising migrant workers without regard to legal status Conclusion Notes

13 Contrasts and Contradictions in Union Organising: The Irish Mushroom Industry

Introduction Unions and migrant workers in Ireland Irish mushroom industry: Development, crisis and migrant workers SIPTU’s recruiting campaign Workers’ consciousness SIPTU as an ‘obstacle’ Lurgan conference: A signifier of different methods and ideas Note

14 Union Renewal and Young People: Some Positive Indications from British Supermarkets

Introduction Partnership and organising Young people and unions Employment relations in retail Research questions and methods Research findings Discussion and conclusions

References Index